First Norfolk County inmate granted medical parole

Friday

CANTON — The first inmate convicted for a crime in Norfolk County to be granted medical parole was released last week after 45 years in prison for murdering a man in Dedham in 1973.

Joseph Labriola, 83, is the third person released under a state law created last year to allow for medical parole, according to Norfolk County District Attorney Michael W. Morrissey. The law allows inmates who have been diagnosed as having 18 months or less to live or determined to be permanently physically incapacitated to be paroled.

Labriola, who was from New Jersey, is the first person convicted of first-degree murder to be released under the law. He was sentenced to life in prison in 1973 at age 27 for killing Arthur Motsis, 40, of Boston.

Motsis was shot 11 times and his body was dumped on woods off Route 128 between Routes 109 and 135.

Labriola has required a wheelchair and 24-hour oxygen for several years and was granted medical parole under the qualification for incapacitated prisoners, a statement from Morrissey's office said.

In the statement, Morrissey said his office determined through a hearing that Labriola is no threat to public safety, that his medical concerns are legitimate and that he has an adequate medical care plan in place.

"It is ultimately the parole board's decision on whether to grant release," he said. "In this instance, we reviewed the information, investigated our questions, and found no grounds to object."